Japan Post to raise $11.5bn in stock market listing

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Japan Post is seeking to raise as much as 1.39tn yen ($11.5bn, £7.4bn) in a stock market listing that would be one of the world's biggest this year.

The plan for the state-owned giant would be one of Japan's largest public share sales in more than 30 years.

The share sale is aimed at boosting Japan's economy and stock markets.

The country's economy shrank in the second quarter of the year - a setback for the government's reform policy.

"We are hopeful it will lead to a virtuous economic cycle," a senior government official said.

Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said the share offering would encourage a shift of savings out of bank deposits and into the stock market.

Earlier this month, Japan said its economy contracted by 0.3% in the three months to June, compared with original calculations of a 0.4% contraction.

The revision beat market expectations, which were for a contraction of 0.5%, but analysts said it had not eased concerns about the state of the economy.

Lagging exports and sluggish consumer spending were the biggest contributors to the drop in growth. Consumer spending makes up some 60% of Japan's economy.

About 80% of the shares in Japan Post Holdings would go to domestic investors, reports said.

Giant firm

Japan Post is headed up by Toru Takahashi, employs some 195,000 people, and has 24,000 post offices.

It also controls the country's largest bank, Japan Post Bank, and Japan Post Insurance, the biggest insurer.

In February, the Japanese giant announced a $5.1bn offer for Australia's Toll Holdings, the largest transport and logistics company in the Asia-Pacific region.

The deal, which went through for $4.6bn in May, has helped Japan Post become a leading global logistics player.

The Japan Post triple market debut, including its bank and insurance arms, is expected to occur in early November.